It has been reported by well known and trusted Microsoft author, Paul Thurrott, that Windows Vista (previously codename Longhorn) will ship in no less than 7 different versions. The most basic, Vista Starter Edition, will only ship in emerging markets and will be heavily restricted (only 3 applications running simultaneously for example). The next version up, Vista Home Basic Edition, is for the computer novice or budget conscious buyer. This will be similar to the current XP Home offering, with some of the more advanced features (such as joining a domain) disabled.

At the opposite end of the Vista versions market, we have the Ultimate Edition. This, according to reports, will be unlike any other Microsoft product out today. As well as combining the best features from the other six Vista flavours, Ultimate will add several very interesting new features. Rumoured to be present are a podcasting application, a "Game Performance Tweaker" and even the possibility of free music and movie downloads. Although exactly what that entails is anyone's guess.

It is worth noting that at this point, nothing has been officially confirmed by Microsoft. I am currently awaiting a response from one of their PR team to confirm whether these rumours are in fact true. For details on the other 4 versions of Vista, and a brief overview of all 7, click Read More.